5G is a golden opportunity for Chinese manufacturers

5G networks will revolutionize the world of technology. China, one of the most powerful economies in the world, wants to play a leading role in the development of 5G networks; several companies from the Asian country are already working on different tests.

A quite different situation from the development of 4G LTE networks, in which mainly Japanese, South Korean and European companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, SK Telecom, Qualcomm and LG were involved.

Huawei and ZTE bet on 5G networks

There are currently a wide range of Chinese telecommunications companies working on the 5G standard. Huawei and ZTE, two of China’s largest mobile telephony and telecommunications companies, are leading the research and are also advancing at a vertigo pace.

ZTE is currently testing 5G networks with China Mobile and China Unicom. As for Huawei, the Chinese company is 100% involved in the development and testing of 5G networks; it has even partnered with Deutsche Telekom to test the first 5G connection in Europe. He is also working with Intel on a research project to improve short-range radio technologies.

Huawei and ZTE are leading the way in investing in 5G technologies, but they are also mobile device manufacturers. Therefore, if they are able to design and develop their own chips, it would be a huge advance in the technology sector.

The bright future of the new generation of 5G networks

LexInnova Technologies, a US consultancy, estimates that China holds approximately 10% of the world’s 5G network intellectual property rights. In addition, it points out that the expenditure on 5G infrastructures of the three most important network operators in the Asian country of China, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, will also amount to 155 billion euros over a seven-year period.

It is not uncommon for China to make such large investments in 5G considering that it is the country with the most mobile phones in the world, followed by India and the US. LexInnova Technologies estimates that there will be more than one billion 5G users by 2023,50% of them in China.

The road to 5G networks will be long and will require the support of a large amount of input from companies around the world.